Weir Legal and Consulting specialise in acting for government regulators.
We bring together expertise advising regulators at all levels of government on a broad range of regulatory issues including:
Bronwyn Weir, Director, has over 22 years experience advising all 3 tiers of government on regulatory practice and procedure, her experience covers the following sectors:
Bronwyn was co-appointed with Professor Peter Shergold by the Building Minister’s Forum to prepare a report on building regulatory systems across Australia. The Building Confidence Report (BCR) was published in April 2018 and has received broad support from industry and governments. https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/building-confidence-building-ministers-forum-expert-assessment
Bronwyn was a member of the Expert Advisory Group which advised on the work of the Australian Building Codes Board to assist the states and territories to implement the BCR. In December 2021 the BCR Implementation Team published a set of implementation tools, including model guidance documents, resources for industry associations and model codes of conduct and processes. Best practice model guidance
Bronwyn is a founding Board member of the International Building Quality Centre at Canberra University. The paramount vision of the IBQC is that, through its research and its members, the IBQC will have a positive and material impact on building regulation and practices in Australia and jurisdictions across the world. http://www.ibqc.org.au/
Bronwyn was appointed as chair of the Building Industry Fairness Reforms Implementation and Evaluation Panel by the Queensland government together with Deputy Chair, Jennifer Robertson, Troy Lewis and Fiona Reid. The Panel’s role was to evaluate reforms relating to security of payment in the construction sector including the introduction of project bank accounts. The Panel’s report was tabled in the Queensland Parliament in November 2019. Building Fairness: An Evaluation of Queensland’s Building Industry Fairness Reforms
Bronwyn has also undertaken a report into strata community living and the impacts of building defects in high rise apartments and together Bronwyn and Krista prepared a report for Solar Victoria as part of its broader review of consumer protections under the Solar Homes and Solar for Business Programs in Victoria. Bronwyn and Krista have also worked with Catchment Management Authorities to prepare an updated risk based framework for their compliance and enforcement activities and are advising Melbourne Water.
Krista Weymouth, Special Counsel, has a strong background working with regulators in both the private and public sector.
Prior to joining Weir Legal and Consulting Krista was general counsel for a state government statutory authority. She has also had extensive experience advising local, State and Commonwealth regulators at a large law firm and at the Australian Government Solicitor. During her time in private practice Krista completed a number of secondments with regulators, including in the building and health space.
Krista advises regulators across a range of sectors on operational activities including investigations, complaints management, registration and licensing, policies and procedures and compliance activity. Krista also works with regulators on risk-based policy and decision making.
Frances Hall, Special Counsel, has extensive experience in regulatory advice, litigation and enforcement proceedings for local and state governments and a range of regulatory authorities. Frances joined Weir Legal and Consulting as a Special Counsel in 2023, after 14 years at a large law firm in which she acted as a trusted advisor for a range of government and statutory authority clients, providing advice, advocacy and a pragmatic perspective on a wide range of regulatory and administrative law issues.
Her primary focus has been building regulation advice and she has acted extensively for local government authorities, the Victorian Municipal Building Surveyors Group, the Victorian Building Authority, Fire Rescue Victoria and Cladding Safety Victoria. She has also given broader regulatory advice for CoINVEST Ltd., Architects Registration Board of Victoria and has acted as counsel assisting the Architects Tribunal and previously the Building Practitioners Board.
Her areas of expertise include: